


Tell me about your Ancestors

by Drowsy_Salamander



Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: Also yes, Clan Culture, Did i still do it?, Gen, Let these Clans have actual differences ERIN, Star Clan, Still yes!, Yes i did just tag every cat that gets mentioned in this fic, clan traditions, definitely, was this excessive?, will this have too many tags?, yes - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-19
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2021-02-22 15:35:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22318573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Drowsy_Salamander/pseuds/Drowsy_Salamander
Summary: Here’s an experiment. Ask a Clan cat where their ancestors are and they will all say in StarClan, in the sky, the very stars themselves. Ask them how they get there and how they honour their ancestors; they will all have different answers.
Comments: 20
Kudos: 88





	Tell me about your Ancestors

Here’s an experiment. Ask a Clan cat where their ancestors are and they will all say in StarClan, in the sky, the very stars themselves. Ask them how they get there and how they honour their ancestors; they will all have different answers.

A River Clan cat will tell you that StarClan live in the Sky-river. The river that RiverClan lives beside flows for an eternity until it reaches the sky and the river of the sky, the Sky-river, flows eternally until it reaches the river again. The sky and RiverClan’s river are all one big system. The sun and the moon are pushed across the Sky-river by the current and the stars swim and play in the waters. RiverClan lay their dead to rest in the river. Their fur groomed. Great care is taken in the act. RiverClan values the beauty in life, the aesthetics of nature and they take great pride in their appearance. The other Clans call RiverClan vain. Nothing will enrage them faster. It’s a part of honouring their ancestors.

Mistystar fumed with rage in the ThunderClan camp. “-and he made us leave the bodies right there, there on the ground to rot! To never be put at rest in the river! Even Tigerstar allowed RiverClan to send our dead onwards.”

Twigpaw shivered and turned to Alderheart. “Do RiverClan cats really put their dead clanmates in the river?”

Alderheart nodded solemnly. “Yes, Willowshine explained it me. They think the river is the pathway to StarClan.”

Twigpaw’s tail curled around her paws to comfort herself. She couldn’t imagine anything worse than her body being left in the water, drowning even in death. Behind her, the other RiverClan cats lashed their tails in rage at Darktail’s disrespect.

When the cat is placed in the river, a final farewell, a last gift from the Clan is given to them. A crown of woven flowers is placed upon the cat’s head. The death-flowers are just as sacred to RiverClan as the Moonstone itself. Damaging the death-flowers is one of the highest crimes. The medicine cats attend the death-flowers rigorously through the year, preventing frost or drought from killing the bush.

Once, Mudfur flicked his tail towards the bush, explaining to his apprentice. “These are the death-flowers, we need to look after them.” Mothwing stared intently at the flowers. “As a medicine cat, we guide our clan through their lives and then through their death, bringing them to the Sky-river.”

“Mudfur,” Mothwing murmured, “I don’t know if I really understand this. I mean the sky is the sky and-and the river must end somewhere.”

Mudfur blinked at her in sympathy. “I know our customs can seem strange, they can be strange even to us, and you do not need to understand immediately.”

Mothwing still looked uncertain and Mudfur gently laid his tail on her shoulder. “When you share tongues with StarClan it will start making more sense. You will be a great medicine cat Mothwing, I’m certain.”

  
(And of course, she was.)

  
(And of course, it didn’t make more sense.)

  
After leaving the forest and arriving at the lake, the clan searched for a bush of flowers like the death-flowers and Mothwing fretted when everyone kept asking if StarClan had sent her a sign about where they could find death-flowers because there must be some on their territory otherwise this wasn’t the right home for them and Mothwing was so frustrated because they were just flowers surely any flowers would work as a tribute- Willowkit found a bush after receiving a dream from StarClan.

RiverClan gifts their clanmates with flowers and smooth stones and colourful things the twolegs drop. They are like magpies, gathering pretty trinkets to give to a love one. When the cat dies, their pretty things are placed in the river with them, to travel with them to the Sky-river.

Silverstream’s nest was full of gifts from her father, from Mistyfoot and Sunfish. But there were a number of soft leaves and early spring flowers whose origins were unknown. Mosspelt giggled lightly and asked Silverstream just who was giving her these gifts? Did she have a secret boyfriend? Silverstream just laughed and twitched an ear, uncomfortable.  
Mosspelt felt awful as she carried Silverstream’s pretty flowers to the River, the elders carrying her body ahead. Mudfur placed her crown of death-flowers on her head and Crookedstar buried his muzzle in her fur for the last time. Her body was lowered into the water and in silent procession first Crookedstar, then Mistyfoot, then Mosspelt placed all of Silverstream’s trinkets in the river with her to go with her to StarClan.

(Over in ThunderClan, Greystripe held the pretty river stone he had been keeping in his nest to the confusion of his clanmates.)

Nothing is constant in RiverClan. Though the water may change, the river remains the same. RiverClan cats may die and new cats be born until several generations have passed and no one is the same but the Clan is the same. It was important that RiverClan cats understood their place as being one part of one stage of the Clan.

When the twolegs threatened them and Leopardstar hesitated, her deputy padded over to her and said quietly “Though the water may change, the river remains the same.”

Leopardstar nodded solemnly and stood. “We shall leave the forest with the other Clans, the territory doesn’t make us RiverClan, we make us RiverClan. No matter where we are, we will be the Clan.”

To WindClan, their ancestors live in the sky and run on the moors. Their spirits are the wind rushing beside them. WindClan cats puff out their chests with pride, their ancestors run with them into battle, are present in the hunt, watch over the camp. They are always connected, no matter where they are.

Once, Talltail thought he left his Clan behind as he ran off on his quest for vengeance. But as he ran, he felt the wind rush through his fur and lift his feet and knew his ancestors were with him. He hoped he would prevail.

Later, Tallstar looked back at his Clan. They were bedraggled and tired. Being driven from their home was heart wrenching. Tallstar closed his eyes and felt his fur being ruffled by the wind and knew their ancestors were with them. He hoped WindClan would prevail.

Even later, Tallstar looked back at his Clan, starving and driven away again, leaving the territory that was once their home, for the third and last time. The wind blew through their ragged fur and he knew their ancestors were with them. WindClan would prevail.

WindClan cats, once they die, are left on the moorland so their body is open to the wind, for their spirit to be collected by the other spirits. The greatest fear of every WindClan cat is to be buried, unable to reach the sky and run in the wind.

After Darktail was defeated WindClan scoured the lake, trying to find Onestar’s body and Harespring turned to Kestrelflight. “What will happen to him? Will Onestar be able to find the sky?”

Kestrelflight soothed his leader with platitudes that of course Onestar would make his way to StarClan.

(Privately Kestrelflight wondered if this was StarClan’s method of punishing Onestar.)

(At least being drowned was better than being buried.)

WindClan looks at the other Clans, at ShadowClan and ThunderClan who live in the trees, blocking their ancestors, and RiverClan who have turned their backs on their spirits, more concerned with pretty pebbles and fish than their ancestors, and sneer at them. The other Clans look at WindClan leaving the bodies of their clanmates on the moor and-

(“I heard that WindClan leaves the bodies to rot.” “That is disgusting.”)

-it wasn’t looked upon well by the other Clans.

The only form of memorialisation were the stacks of stones placed upon the moor. In the forest, they had been placed near the Highstones, as close to the moonstone, as close to the sky. Beside the lake, the Stone-stacks were dotted across the moor, some closer to the Moonpool, others on tall hills. Each Stone-stack was an individual cat’s monument to an individual, communal mourning and celebrating weren’t a part of WindClan.

(Breezepaw once saw his father carefully make a stack out of smooth, grey, river stones and was confused because who was Crowfeather mourning?)

(Later, Breezepelt deliberately knocked the Stone-stack over. While it may not have been commemorating Leafpool, it definitely wasn’t in honour of his mother and that was enough for Breezepelt.)

That was until the Dark Forest took so many of their Clanmates all in one sudden stroke. Onestar stared over his grieving Clan and turned to his new deputy and his old medicine cat and said, “What if the Clan made a Stone-stack together?”

ShadowClan believes in the stars. Upon death, the cat’s spirit ascends to the sky to shine down on their clanmates. Once the cats name is no longer spoken by a living cat and any cat, they knew alive, resides with them in the sky, they would return to the clan, born again as a kit with a new life to serve their Clan. ShadowClan tell stories of those they do not want to return, keeping evil cats’ names alive and imprisoning them in the sky.

Brokenstar’s name lived far longer than that of his father or his successor.

In ShadowClan, the cycle is valued. Day to night, light to dark, life to death to life. Such concepts are potent concepts in Shadowclan and are honoured in names. When Tawnypelt named her kits, most heads were turned to Tigerkit’s harkening of Tigerstar and ignored the careful counterbalance of Dawnkit’s traditional name.

The moon is Shadowstar’s eye, slowly blinking as she watches over them eternally. The Moonlight is sacred. At night, ShadowClan cats stick to the shadows, bowing their head if they must pass under the moon.

Sol slept brazenly in a clearing under the moon and encouraged other ShadowClan cats to do so.

Later, Needlepaw and Sleekpaw echoed this behaviour with other apprentices. Tawneypelt attempted to round them up back into their shadowed den and Crowfrost turned to Rowanstar “You must put a stop to this disrespect.”

Rowanstar shrugged his shoulders “What more can we do? Any discipline we try, they just rebel more.”

Crowfrost glared at Sleekpaw grooming herself in the moonlight. “It’s just wrong.”

The medicine cat and the leaders are the only ones capable of walking under the moon as they are star touched and sleep under the moonlight.

Once, in the leader’s den, Blackstar settled into his nest tucked into the darkest corner, as far away from the light of Shadowstar as possible. Littlecloud entered carefully. “Blackstar, I just wanted to tell you that Russetfur’s cough is improv—” He blinked as he saw Blackstar curled up away from the moon. “Why are you sleeping… there?” Blackstar said nothing, just staring at his medicine cat. Littlecloud seemed to understand easily what was plaguing his leader. “Blackstar, you are worthy to sleep under the moon. StarClan accepted you as ShadowClan’s leader. You have StarClan’s blessing just as I do.”

Blackstar stared at Littlecloud, fearful. “They blessed Brokenstar and Tigerstar too and they were not worthy to sleep under the moon yet they did, yet they brazenly did despite all they’d done. Their actions made them unworthy, not StarClan, and I helped both of them.”

Littlecloud considered this. “Then you must use your actions to make yourself worthy. Become worthy.”

Later, Rowanstar would refuse to sleep in the moonlight after he failed his Clan but this time there was no Littlecloud to help him.

Other Clans laughed at how ShadowClan cats bowed their heads during the Gathering. “They’re embarrassed to be here.” Laughed Minnowtail and Harespring wondered idly if they did it to appear less arrogant or aggressive or something. Behind them, Snowbird rolled her eyes and shared a look with her brother. “They could always just ask.” She muttered to Ratscar.

The exception to this rule was No-Moon-Night, the night of the new moon. A night of great celebration and fun. On this night, all in ShadowClan were free to run and play below the stars, it was the night their ancestors gifted them. Prey was eaten and gossip shared, No-Moon-Night games were told and all warriors had to take the time to remember their elders, both those still in the camp and those in the sky. It was on No-Moon-Night, that the leader makes announcements and changes happen. Kits wait excitedly to hear if they’re going to become apprentices and apprentices carefully groom themselves the day before just in case, they become warriors. It’s the night queens announce their kits names and the kits join the clan and when warriors decide to join the elders. The night of change.

When Tigerstar made Oakpaw, Oakfur during the day, closer to the full moon than the new moon; Littlecloud shifted uncomfortably and looked over at Runningnose for reassurance but found only doubt in his mentor’s eyes. Littlecloud couldn’t help but feel the echoes of his own apprentice ceremony, held during the crescent moon under Brokenstar. But surely StarClan knew what they were doing? Runningnose didn’t give him any certainty.

When Tigerstar brought RiverClan and ShadowClan together, they tripped over their different cultures. ShadowClan watched the RiverClan warriors share-tongues in the moonlight and RiverClan stared as ungroomed ShadowClan cats left messes behind them and tossed aside beautiful things.

ThunderClan cats become trees. Their bodies are buried in the forest and the spirits inhabit their trees. Their ancestors are constantly around them. They must give thanks to their ancestors for the prey as their ancestors nurture and gift it to them. Their ancestors shelter and care for them and ThunderClan honours them. Some cats say that certain trees are certain cats. Brambleclaw would swear that the hawthorn tree that in newleaf had strangely golden blossoms was Goldenflower and Bluefur often eyed the forest during leafbare, trying to determine which snow-covered tree was her sister.  
When the twolegs came and uprooted the trees, they uprooted ThunderClan’s very foundation. Dustpelt watched in horror as a monster tore down the beech tree that always had red leaves in leaf-fall, the same red as Redtail’s fur and Ashfur raged as the tree Brindleface was buried under was cut down.  
If you looked just right at the tree that fell into the ThunderClan camp and buried Longtail beneath it, you could see a pair of hardened sap that almost looked like scratched eyes, followed by a long and winding branch. Mousefur until the day she died, insisted that the tree held Longtail’s spirit.

(Seasons and seasons later after many generations had passed, the story would become twisted and the tree was named after Longstar, after the noble leader underneath it.)

(Up in StarClan Longtail laughed, “All it took was dying to become a great leader!”)

ThunderClan apprentices love to tell the ghost story of the haunted tree-bridge. “You see,” Mousepaw said to a RiverClan apprentice at a Gathering “Mudclaw was crushed by the tree-bridge falling on him and he inhabits the tree now, trying to knock cats off the tree when they cross.”

“That’s mousebrained,” a WindClan apprentice said. “StarClan was punishing Mudclaw by burying him. He can’t do anything.”

WindClan, and indeed RiverClan too, had always despised ThunderClan’s tradition of burying the dead, trapping them eternally far away from the freedom of the sky. When Onestar bristled with rage in the ThunderClan camp he had just invaded, he howled about ThunderClan’s self-importance and belief in their superiority when really, they were nothing, blasphemous to StarClan and a plague on the lake, unable to honour their ancestors, defiling them really- that was when Firestar leapt for his former friend’s throat.

ThunderClan was the Clan of growth and endurance. The trees remained steady and firmly planted and the Clan mimicked the trees. Tradition and legacy. In the forest, in the camp, the elder’s den’s huge tree was scored with hundreds of claw scrapes made by each new warrior upon completing their vigil. Squirrelflight was restless after gaining her warrior name. “I won’t be able to leave my mark with the rest of my clanmates.” She confessed to Brambleclaw. He considered this then replied, “You’ll be the first to leave paw prints in our new territory. That’s something.”

This was one of the things left behind in the forest, the new camp lacked a good place to start and once the Longtail/star-tree fell into camp, crippling Briarpaw, the tradition was already dead. Jayfeather brought back claw marks in polished wood as a method for honouring past warriors after the battle with the Dark Forest.

(He did wonder at how both old-ThunderClan and the ancient cats used similar methods for remembrance. Perhaps it was something carried on from the ancient cats all the way down to the Clans.)

(He refused to let it be mere coincidence.)

Legacy was inherited and family was important- that was why when Firepaw, lacking a lineage, was chosen to be Bluestar’s apprentice, Sandpaw and Dustpaw looked at him with bitter envy and was why Lionpaw was full of pride, the son of the deputy and the grandson of Firestar, he was descended from the greats and he too, would be great.

(It was why Hollyleaf was even more devastated upon losing her great parents and gaining a broken union instead.)

The stories of the past are passed on. ThunderClan has a culture of storytelling stronger than any other Clan. Tales of great cats were told long after they’d died. Spottedkit sat eagerly in the elders’ den to hear about the evil Mapleshade who’s pelt was splattered with the blood of her victims. Graystripe yawned and continued telling an excited Sparkkit about medicine cat Goosefeather who was blessed by StarClan to see the future. An old Snaptooth between dozes told the desperate kits of how his father and the Three defeated the Dark Forest and the ghosts of the past. Far in the future, the medicine can Frostfeather told the deaf Thornkit about Jayfeather, one of the best medicine cats the forest had ever known and who was blind; if Jayfeather could become a great medicine cat, then Thornkit could become a great warrior, she was sure of it. And always the names of the cats who dies fighting the Dark Forest were taught to every apprentice, particularly the noble leader Firestar who, the story goes, had fire in his fur and could defeat any warrior in one strike, singlehandedly defeating BloodClan or was it the Dark Forest or TigerClan or maybe it was ShadowClan? The story changes with time but what remained the same was Firestar who could defeat all of ThunderClan’s enemies and yet bring peace. His name was invoked in battle and in diplomacy.

In this way, ThunderClan cats achieve immortality through memory and stories and memories of stories.

(The accuracy of these recollections isn’t the point, the point is the narrative about ThunderClan that the stories create.)

Ask a SkyClan cat about their ancestors and funeral rituals, they wouldn’t be able to tell you. When SkyClan was driven off and disbanded, they lost their culture.

(If you asked a cat back when SkyClan lived at the forest they would say the clouds are their ancestors, playing in the sky, nurturing the forest with rain and clearing for the sun.)

(If you asked Cloudstar while he was leading his Clan away from the forest, he would say the clouds are just clouds.)

When SkyClan was reformed by Firestar at the gorge, it was reformed in ThunderClan’s image. They buried their dead under the trees and said that the speckled bark looks like Rainfur’s pelt.

Later when SkyClan came to the lake, Tree calmly explained how dead cats just sorta hang around the forest and in seasons to come this becomes their myth, merging with the ThunderClan’s beliefs. SkyClans ancestors walk amongst them invisible, between the trees, in the camp, beside the lake, always present.

There are very few constants between the clans.

Their warrior ancestors were StarClan and lived in the sky

(except when the ran in the wind or inhabited the trees or swam in the river or walked the forest again alive)

Their dead were honoured

(By drowning or passing down the river, by setting free to the wind or leaving to rot, by becoming a part of the forest or by trapping underground or--)

(What it means to honour can be very, very different.)

Ask a Clan cat about their ancestors and they will say their ancestors watch over them all from StarClan in the sky.


End file.
